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How
do schools use peer support?
In 1998, children
and teachers from 51 schools in Britain (mainly England
but also Scotland and Wales) were asked about using peer
support to tackle bullying. The support schemes included:
mediation (helping discussion on school problems such as
bullying and racism), mentoring (where a pupil, often older,
was a positive role model for a more vulnerable pupil),
befriending and counselling. When asked about the benefits
of peer support, the most frequent answer of children and
teachers was that it gave users of the scheme strength to
handle their bullying problems. When asked about benefits
for peer supporters, the most common answers were acquiring
skills and showing that someone cares. Teachers and pupils
felt that the most common benefit for the school was showing
that it cares. The problems mentioned most often concerned
acceptance of the scheme by pupils and teachers and also
the negative attitudes of some teachers. However, the responses
showed that there was a commitment to solving problems and
improving the system.
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Article details
P Naylor and H Cowie
(1999) 'The Effectiveness of Peer Support Systems in Challenging
School Bullying: the perspectives and experiences of teachers
and pupils' in 'Journal of Adolescence', Volume 22, pages
467-479.
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Graph
details
Figures 3 and 4,
page 472 in the article above.
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 Author
details
Helen Cowie is research
professor in the European Institute of Health and Medical
Sciences at the University of Surrey. She is also director
of the UK
Observatory for the Promotion of Non-Violence and Co-ordinator
of Violence in Schools Training Action (VISTA). She has
published many books and papers on peer relationships and
support, bullying in schools and in the workplace and the
mental health of children and young people.
For information about
her research interests and her publications please go
here. She may be contacted by email.
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